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Cork Forestry Stages Rally - 23-24 Jul 05

Posted: August 7, 2005 10:48 PM - 12395 Hits

Tadhg O Conaill Heating and Plumbing Cork Forestry Rally - 23-24 Jul 05
Round 6 - 2005 National Forestry Championship
Round 4 - 2005 Irish 205 Challenge
Round 3 - 2005 Ford Ka Championship

  • Allen/ Connolly Clinch Corker - Forestry Championship Report.
  • KaMotions Ka Rally Championship: Buckley Takes Command.
  • Shinnors Excels
  • Allen/Connolly take first championship win as MacHale/Nagle lose 4 minutes on Saturday
  • Full Results available
  • More Photos

Posted: August 7, 2005 10:48 PM

Allen/ Connolly Clinch Corker - Forestry Championship Report.
Glen Allen/ Damien Connolly scored their maiden victory in the “McCauley Trailers” series as they emerged with a comfortable winning margin on the “Tadhg O’Conaill Heating and Plumbing” Cork 2 Day Forest Rally. Allen took the lead on stage 5 “Rahan” and has elevated himself to second overall in the Championship standings with two rounds remaining. Despite the atrocious weather conditions a record 111 cars set out from parc ferme at lunchtime Saturday including all the Championship regulars, the “Irish 205 Challenge”, the “KA Championship” and some wildcards like local John Shanahan with a Gp A Evo 7, Derek Tracey with an Impreza S8 WRC and Dominic McNeill with the Step 2 Lancer WRC.

The opening stage “Fidane” near Mallow was very slippy; the heavy rain turned the forests tracks into a mud bath. Top seed Gareth MacHale/ Paul Nagle set the pace albeit 0.5 of a second clear of Glen Allen, both drivers having minor mishaps in their Corolla WRC’s – MacHale clipped a bale and Allen slid wide on a square left. Kevin O’Kane/ Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC) held third – 8 secs adrift. Cork man; John McCarthy held fourth and opined that he was a bit too cautious. John McGlaughlin/ David McElroy (Evo 7) completed the top five and led Gp N.

James Murphy/ Anthony Nestor were sixth with their new “Hino” livered Escort WRC. Brian McGillin/ Dave Doherty (Impreza) were only 0.1 sec off Murphy in 7th spot. Derek Tracey/ Dave Williams were in eight on their first visit to the Irish woods with their pristine Impreza S8 WRC. Dominic McNeill/ Francis Kenny held 9th with the ex-Boland Lancer WRC. Pete Willoughby/ Greg McCarthy completed the top ten with the DJ Rally Hire Evo 8. There were a few casualties on Fidane; Stephen Moore pushed too hard putting his N10 Impreza into the trees on a square left, sustained little damage but was there to stay. Moore’s Gp N rival Patrick Elliott (Evo 8) retired a few corners later with a blown turbo.

Stage two; Rahan was shorter and not quite as slippy, Gareth MacHale continued to set the pace ahead of Allen. Stage 3; “Peter’s Hill” traditionally known as Killavullen saw more casualties. Local ace John Shanahan had Dave Moynihan on-board his hired Gp A Evo 7 and was determined to set the pace through his home stage but it all came to an abrupt end when Shanahan put the Evo into the bushes. Wicklow’s Daniel Barry retired his Gp N Evo 6 when his transmission seized close to the stage finish. Johnny McKenna’s (Evo 6) bad run continued as he too retired in the Killavullen Forests with broken suspension. Class four favourites Jason/ Patrick Roche retired on the road section to stage 3 with yet another gearbox failure.

Gareth MacHale arrived into service after stage 3 holding a 10 sec lead ahead of Glenn Allen’s similar Corolla WRC. John McCarthy climbed to third – 13 secs down on Allen – the Cork man dropped time after making a wrong tyre choice for the opening stages. Derek Tracey/ Dave Williams (Impreza WRC) tied in fourth with Brian McGillin (Impreza) who topped the Gp N standings. Holding 6th Dominic McNeill was using the event to get the Lancer sorted for gravel. James Murphy held 7th despite charging problems, John McGlaughlin (Evo 7) 8th, Kevin O’Kane 9th and 2WD leader Brian Lawlor/ Peter Kavanagh (Escort) rounded off the top ten.

The repeat loop in the afternoon saw big changes to the leader-board. John McCarthy beached his Corolla on Fidane – little damage but it was all over. Gareth MacHale put his Corolla off on the next stage “Rahan” losing 4 mins when he understeered into a ditch on a long tightening right bend, dropping him well down the leader-board. Gareth set a scorching time through the following and final stage of day 1, 16 secs quicker than Glenn Allen. Dominic McNeill was much quicker on the repeat loop having re mapped the Lancer at service. Locals Brendan Murphy and John Hickey were starting to feature in the Gp N fray with their respective Subaru’s. Killavullen’s Pat Shanahan retired close to home, his Starlet sidelined with axle failure. Frank Kelly/ Liam Brennan rolled on Rahan, did only minor damage and got back on track - incidentally Liam Brennan was the stage commander on Rahan the previous year and knew it well – Murphy’s Law!

Glenn Allen took the lead on stage 5 and emerged from stage 6 (Peter’s Hill) holding a 45 sec overnight advantage from Derek Tracey who climbed the ranks through the afternoon. McNeill was up to third but considered pulling out as the Lancer lost oil pressure. Brian McGillin held 4th and led Gp N overnight, John McGlaughlin 5th and Kevin O’Kane 6th. Trevor Harding/ Adrian Deasy recovered to hold 7th overnight losing the back bumper along the way. Pete Willoughby set more competitive times in the afternoon to hold 8th, Pete McCullagh jnr/ Alan Dolan were 9th and Brian Lawlor held 10th and best of the 2WD brigade.

Sunday saw the event move to the vast Ballyhoura Forest Complex which was renowned for very hard, fast and smooth flowing stages. The format consisted of 8 stages (4 repeated) over 60 stage miles including a new stage. The heavy rain persisted as the cars set out from parc ferme for the first of Sunday’s stages “Streamhill Bridge” a classic 13-mile test. Glenn Allen just had to keep it together while young MacHale was down in 13th and needed to make serious inroads to bring home worthwhile points. McNeill did not restart due to his oil pressure worries. MacHale set FTD through Streamhill a staggering 18 secs clear of leader Allen.

At first service Sunday after stages 7 and 8 Glenn Allen edged over a minute ahead of Derek Tracey who lost time having stalled twice on Streamhill. Brian McGillin was up to third and held a 24sec Gp N lead ahead of fourth placed John McGlaughlin, O’Kane held fifth, MacHale climbed to sixth – seven places in two stages. Pete Willoughby edged ahead of his fellow Subaru Salesman Trevor Harding. Pete McCullagh held ninth and Brian Lawlor was a solid tenth. Just outside the top ten was a clatter of Gp N’s Michael Tynan, Brendan Murphy, Martin Cairns and John Hickey. Frank Kelly suffered a puncture and Niall Driver (Evo 6) lost power steering.

After service near Killdorrery Rally leader Allen continued with no heroics setting FTD through ss10. Derek Tracey seemed safe in second. The Gp N race was getting very tight McGillin was still in front but McGlaughlin was closing in. Gareth MacHale set FTD through ss9 and 11 but had an overshoot on ss10, now up to 5th MacHale was eager to make the podium. Stage 11 saw the demise of Pete Willoughby as he slipped off on a right hander only a few corners in. James Murphy retired; his Hino Escort was stuck in fourth gear. Michael Tynan made the top ten – the Monaghan man now really getting to grips with his Evo.

The final loop was the toughest of the event, three stages over 25 stage miles including a repeat of the mammoth “Streamhill Bridge”. Glenn Allen/ Damien Connolly came through unscathed to take their first forest win with the “BA Components” Corolla. Allen has been a very loyal supporter of the Cork event over the years, always had the speed but never had the luck so this was a sweet success for the Cookstown Garage proprietor. Second placed Derek Tracey/ Dave Williams (Impreza WRC) were well impressed with the Southern Forests and accounted very well on their first visit – hopefully we will see them out again on various “McCauley Trailers” Championship rounds. Gareth MacHale/ Paul Nagle made their mark on Sunday as they scaled the leader-board to finish third, netting second place points as Tracey was not registered. MacHale has consolidated his Championship lead – 27 points clear of Glenn Allen with two rounds remaining.

The penultimate stage saw the demise of Gp N leader Brian McGillin when his Subaru left the road as he cut a corner too tight hit a tree stump and bounced off track. John McGlaughlin/ David McElroy kept the pressure on McGillin and had reduced the deficit to 8 secs entering stage 13 – unlucky for McGillin. McGlaughlin (Evo 7) had a clean run through the final stage “Ballinaboola” secured Gp N honours along with fourth overall. Kevin O’Kane/ Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC) raised their game on Sunday finishing fifth. Trevor Harding/ Adrian Deasy (Gp A Impreza) finished 6th, Pete McCullagh jnr/ Alan Dolan (Evo 6) 7th and runner up in Gp N. Brian Lawlor/ Peter Kavanagh (Escort mk2) turned in yet another stern performance; 8th overall, Best 2WD and class five honours. Number 41; Martin Cairns/ Andrew O’Donoghue (Impreza N9) worked their way up the order finishing 9th overall and 3rd in a very hotly contested Gp N class. Frank Kelly/ Liam Brennan (Escort mk2) had a catalogue of misfortune but never gave up to come home 10th overall and runner up in the 2WD category.

Ventry brothers Alan/ Tony Dineen took class one honours with their family run Nova. Mick Nevin/ Michael Garahy clinched class two with their faithful Mk2. Matt Shinnors/ Denis O’Donovan (Escort 16v) netted 14th overall and clinched class 3. Locals Michael O’Sullivan/ Donnacha O’Callaghan (mk2) did the business in class four. Ashley McAdoo/ Adam Murray (Nova) topped the timesheets in the very competitive junior class.

Despite the atrocious weather conditions all weekend Clerk of the Course; Ger Fahy and his Cork Motor Club team ran an excellent event with a great sporting atmosphere and a competitor friendly format. It was remarkable that all 14 stages ran as per schedule, testament to the huge effort by all concerned. As former Champion Kevin O’Kane said, “That’s a proper rally”.


Photo: Joe Lane - actionphotos.ie
KaMotions Ka Rally Championship: Buckley Takes Command.
Mark Buckley from Whites Cross, Cork secured his second successive victory at the third round of the 2005 KaMotions KA Rally Championship, the two day Cork Forestry Rally.

Through the opening loop of stages Colm Forde set fastest times, in the Forde Motors supported KA, while the close battle for second saw Mark Buckley hold a slender three second advantage over Sharon Power, in the Power-JCB-Hire car. The technical Saturday evening stages saw an on form Colm Forde build a one minute lead over the hard charging Sharon Power who set a number of fastest times to move into second. Championship leader Mark Buckley was working hard to find the correct setup for his car and was six seconds adrift in third at the overnight halt.

Colm Fordes unbelievable string of wretched luck struck again on the first loop of Sunday morning when his car ran wide through a medium speed corner and got beached in a ditch. With no spectators nearby, their advantage was gone by the time they managed to extract the car.

Mark Buckley upped his pace considerably taking maximum advantage while Sharon Power struggled when her visibility was reduced to less than half a meter - her windscreen was severely misting up throughout the morning loop and the time loss was considerable.

Mark Buckley, in the Buckley Tyres supported car, endured some gear selection difficulties through the final loop of stages but managed to hold on to claim his second win and at the finish he beamed: ”This was my first forest rally and I knew it would take some time to adapt to conditions. It was unfortunate that Colm went off but Sharon drove an excellent rally. I am delighted to win this event and extend my championship lead."

The forth round of the 2005 KaMotions KA Rally Championship sees the KA contenders back on tarmac stages at the ALMC Stages Rally on August 21st.

Shinnors Excels
After a few rallies on tarmac, Matt Shinnors made a return to the loose for the Cork Forestry Rally in his Toyota Engined Mk II Escort. On the notes for the weekend would be West Cork co-driver Denis O'Donovan. The last time the pair competed together was on Night navigation trial in 1.0 ltr Kadett a number of years ago!


Photo: Ger Leahy

Weather was brutal as the crews set off on Saturday afternoon for the opening day's stages. The plan for the team was to settle in to a comfortable pace as the stages were very slippery in the tricky conditions. At the end of the day with only 1/3 of the rally mileage complete, the msmotorsport crew found themselves 20th overall and 2nd in class 3 to championship regular James Flynn in a Honda Civic, by 19 seconds.. The only trouble in Matt's self prepared Escort was a lose fan belt on the road section into service.

Weather conditions on Day 2 dawned worse, but with faster and harder packed stages it was time to attack. On the opening 20Km stage Matt and Denis took 17 seconds off overnight class leader James Flynn. Matt & Denis knew they would be able to get ahead of the Civic crew and by the end of the day had build up a 35 second winning margin. To add to this the crew soon discovered that had finished 3rd 2wd, behind Brian Lawlor and Frank Kelly and 14th overall, without doubt one of Matt's best drives.
Results
1 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC) 1.29.33.5
2 Derek Tracey/Dave Williams (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1.30.51.4
3 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC) 1.31.39.3
4 John McGlaughlin/David McElroy (Mit. Lancer Evo 7) GpN 1.32.13.4
5 Kevin O'Kane/Martin Hanna (Subaru Impreza WRC) 1.33.14.9
6 Trevor Harding/Adrian Deasy (Subaru Impreza WRX) 1.34.28.1
7 Peter McCullagh/Alan Dolan (Mit. Lancer Evo 6) GpN 1.35.21.5
8 Brian Lawlor/Peter Kavanagh (Escort 2.0) 1.36.03.2
9 Martin Cairns/Andy Donoghue (Subaru Impreza N9) GpN 1.37.03.7
10 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort Mk II) 1.37.28.20
Leaders
SS1-4 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS5-14 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)

Stage Winners

SS1 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS2 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS3 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS4 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS5 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS6 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS7 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS8 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS9 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS10 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS11 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS12 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS13 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
SS14 Gareth MacHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC)
PRE EVENT NEWS
  • Marshall's Meeting Points
  • Forestry Championship Preview
  • Cork Motor Club Rally Preview
  • Full Entry List on line
  • Time and Distance available available
  • All systems go for Cork Forest Rally
  • Regulations available to download
  • Sponsor Announced
  • Event Details
Marshall's Meeting Points on:



Pat Nolan (Event Press Officer), Noel O'Connor (Deputy Mayor of Mallow) & Ger Fahy (COC) at the launch of the Cork Forestry Rally
Photo: Ray Gavin


19/07/05
Forestry Championship Preview
Cork Motor Club host Round six of the 2005 “McCauley Trailers” National Forest Rally Championship this weekend with their unique two-day forest rally. Cork Motor Club are delighted to welcome “Tadhg O’Conaill Heating and Plumbing” who have come on-board as new title sponsors. Based in the Quartertown Industrial Estate, Mallow with documentation, results and prize giving at the Mallow Park Hotel the event is also a counting round of the Irish 205 Challenge and the KA Rally Championships. The event has received a capacity entry (133 entries) with all the Championship contestants on the line up.

Ger Fahy has taken over as COC from John Quill (who is competing this year) and along with his dedicated team hope to build on the success of recent years. There is a revised competitor friendly format; 14 stages (100 stage miles) over two days, 3 done twice Saturday and 4 done twice Sunday offering more stage miles combined with less road miles and centralised service both days.

This is Ireland’s only 2-Day Forest Rally and a favourite amongst competitors attracting the best of gravel drivers with the latest spec WRC machines. The event offers a 10-mile test through the Nagle’s Mountains on Saturday and a 13-mile stage in the vast Ballyhoura complex on Sunday. The club will be using their tried and tested software, timing the event to 1/10th of a second.

Gareth Mac Hale/ Paul Nagle top the mouth-watering line up. MacHale will be back in action with his Corolla WRC and hopes to move closer to clinching the Championship title this weekend. At 2; local agri salesman John McCarthy will be partnered by MJ Morrissey and victory beckons in the Corolla as McCarthy is on form having set a few FTD’s on his first visit to the Monaghan forests. Number 3; Glen Allen/ Damien Connolly round off the top three line up of Corolla’s. Allen has been runner up on several events this year and always has the speed in Cork - he was the only driver to take time out of Kevin Lynch on last year’s rally. Kevin O’Kane/ Martin Hanna (Impreza WRC) are at 4 followed by Dominic McNeill/ Francis Kenny using Kieran Shaw’s Mitsubishi step 2 WRC – sure to upset the Toyota trio.

At 6; Charleville’s Dermot Kelly (Escort WRC) will be under pressure from team-mate James Murphy one place behind. Murphy will launch his newly acquired Scottish Championship winning Escort WRC on his home patch and could be one to watch. Killavullen’s John Shanahan along with Liam McLaughlin return after a yearlong lay off. Shanahan will drive a “DJ Rally Hire” Gp A Evo 7 and is determined to make an impression – having held third overall on last year’s event until his engine expired. Trevor Harding/ Mark Kane are at 9 with their Gp A Canadian spec Impreza – Harding is very exciting to watch with his flamboyant sideways style.

Top 2WD seed Frank Kelly/ Liam Brennan complete the top ten with their Mountune powered mk2. Kelly is followed by reigning 2WD Champions; Brian Lawlor/ Peter Kavanagh in a similar high-powered mk2. Both Kelly and Lawlor will thrill the crowds as they battle for 2WD supremacy with their high revs and big sideways through the forests. Dublin’s Derek Tracey/ Dave Williams are at 12 with an Impreza WRC. Tracey makes his first appearance in the Irish woods with his Subaru and has shown a lot of speed in the Welsh Forests this season.

Brendan Murphy/ Pat Condon (Impreza WRX) are the first of the Gp N contingent at no.14 followed by very stiff opposition in the form of; Patrick Elliott/ Mark Bowens (Evo 8), Stephen Moore/ Tony McHugh (N10 Impreza), Pete Willoughby/ Greg McCarthy (Evo 8), Johnny McKenna/ Paul Hone (Evo 6), Brian McGillin (Impreza), John Hickey (Impreza), Pete McCullagh (Evo 6), John McGlaughlin (Evo 7), Terry McGonigle (Evo 8), Stephen Harron (Evo 6) and Niall Driver (Evo 6) to mention but a few.

Scrutiny takes place from 6 – 9 pm on Friday evening at Quartertown Industrial Estate, Mallow followed by documentation at Mallow Park Hotel. The event begins at 12:30 on Saturday; the crews have 3 stages near Killavullen before centralised Service in the Quartertown Estate. After a repeat of the Killavullen loop there will be a 1 hr service in Quartertown allowing competitors to re-fettle their cars for day 2 before being secured in overnight Parc Ferme Saturday night.

The leading cars re-start at 10:00 Sunday morning and the event heads towards North Cork to the Ballyhoura complex for a further 8 stages (4 done twice). The opening stage will be the very fast Streamhill Bridge - a 13-mile test sure to shake things up. Centralised service will be on a closed road near Kildorrery after ss8 and ss11 with the final stage (ss14 Ballinabualla) scheduled for 16:53. The front-runners are due back at the Mallow Park Hotel where there will be a champagne reception for the winners at 17:46 followed by prizegiving later that evening.

Scrutiny/ HQ: 18:00-21:00 Quartertown Industrial estate, Quartertown Mallow – signposted/ arrowed from the Station Roundabout.

Documentation: 18:00-21:30 Friday 22nd Mallow Park Hotel. (Main st. Mallow)

Drivers Briefing: 11:30 Saturday 23rd July @ Hotel.

Service: Centralised both days.
Saturday Quartertown Ind. Estate after ss 3 & 6.
Sunday closed road near Kildorrery after ss8 and ss11



Maps: Discovery Series 73 & 80.
Detailed A3 colour maps will be available for sale @ documentation.

Cork Motor Club Rally Preview
The Tadhg O Conaill Heating and Plumbing Cork Forest Rally takes place this coming weekend and with the entry list now completed there is a cracker of an event in prospect.

As ever the Cork Motor Club promoted event has an oversubscribed entry list and is an event that has everything for the crews.
The two-day event is made up of over 90 stage miles on excellent forestry roads and a mere 132 road miles.

The first car leaves Parc Ferme at 12.30 on Saturday and goes out to tackle stage 1 Fiddane, a nice 5 miler to warm the crews and cars up. Fiddane will be repeated as Stage 4 later in the day, Stages 2& 5 will be Rahan at 3.2 miles and 3 & 6 will the the 10.2 mile Peters Hill.

Service will be in the Quartertown Industrial estate in Mallow after Stages 3&6.

Sunday morning sees the crews set out at 10.00 am to take on the 12.45 miles of Stage 7 Streamhill Bridge which is also stage 13.Stages 8 & 11 take place on the Coolfree stage at 4.85 miles and then on to a brand new stage,6.1 miles of it, appropriately named Newfields, for Stages 9 & 11.Ballinaboola will make up Stages 10 & 14 at 4.8 miles and the first car is due back at the finish ramp at the Mallow Park Hotel at 5.00pm on Sunday.

Service on Sunday will be after stages 8&11 on a closed section of road near Kildorrery.

The rally is Round six of the McAuley Trailers Motorsport Ireland National Forest Rally Championship,a round of the Irish 205 Challenge and Round 4 of the Ford Ka Championship.

In a somewhat rare occurrence in top level rallying in this country the top three seeds are out in Toyota Corolla WRC’s with the first Impreza WRC at number 4 in the hands of Kevin O Kane/Martin Hanna.
Number one seeds are current championship leaders Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle with John McCarthy MJ Morrisey at number 2 and Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly in at 3.
These are followed at number 5 by Dominic McNeill/Francis Kenny in a Mitsubishi Lancer WRC,number 6 Dermot Kelly in an Escort WRC and number 7 James Murphy/Anthony Nestor also in an Escort WRC.

John Shanahan/Liam McLaughlin,who lead group N here last year and ran as high as third overall at one stage before the engine cried enough in their GP N Impreza,are back in a Gp A Mitsubishi Lancer EVO 6.
The rest of the top ten is made up by Trevor Harding/Mark Kane in an Impreza WRC and Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan in their hard charging Mk 2 Escort.

In the two wheel drive section the battle should continue between Kelly/ Brennan and Brian Lawlor/Peter Kavanagh,also in a Mark 2 Escort.
I could go on here all night talking about the classes and the crews but I don’t think there would be enough room for them all.Group N drivers such as Pete Willoughby,John Hickey,John McLaughlin,Niall Driver,other two wheel drive competitors such as James Coleman,Andy Mackerel,Ray Benskin.Tommy Graham is out in an Escort Cosworth,Welsh championship top runner John Leckie will be going in his Impreza the list is endless.So if you want to see some great motorsport action get yourself down to Mallow for the 23rd and 24th of June and don’t miss out.

18/07/05
No Driver/Co-Driver (Car) [Class]
1 Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle (Toyota Corolla WRC) [6]
2 John McCarthy/Mickey Joe Morrissey (Toyota Corolla WRC) [6]
3 Glenn Allen/Damien Connolly (Toyota Corolla WRC) [6]
4 Kevin O Kane/Martin Hanna (Subaru Impreza WRC) [6]
5 Dominic McNeil/Francis Kenny (Mitsubishi Lancer WRC) [6]
6 Dermot Kelly/Ann Other (Ford Escort WRC) [6]
7 James Murphy/Antony Nestor (Ford Escort WRC) [6]
8 John Shanahan /Liam McLaughlin (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [6]
9 Trevor J Harding/Mark Kane (Subaru Impreza WRC) [6]
10 Frank Kelly/Liam Brennan (Ford Escort Mk 2) [5]
11 Brian Lawlor/Peter Kavanagh (Ford Escort Mk 2) [5]
12 Derek Tracey/Dave Williams (Subaru Impreza WRC) [6]
14 Brendan Murphy/Pat Condon (Subaru Impreza WRX) [8]
15 Patrick Elliott/Mark Bowens (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) [8]
16 Stephen Moore/Tony McHugh (Subaru Impreza N10) [8]
17 Pete Willoughby/Greg McCarthy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 ) [8]
18 Johnny McKenna/Paul Hone (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
19 Brian McGillin/Dave Doherty (Subaru Impreza WRX) [8]
20 John Hickey/Paudie Callaghan (Subaru Impreza N9) [8]
21 Peter McCullagh/Alan Dolan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
22 John McGlaughlin/David McIlroy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 7) [8]
23 Terry McGonigale/Killian Duffy (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8.5) [8]
24 Stephen Harron/Sean Mullaly (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [8]
25 Niall Driver/Francis Corrigan (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6) [6]
26 Andy Mackeral/Richard Cassidy (Mitsubishi Evo 4) [8]
27 Eddie Garry/Sean Hayde (Subaru WRC) [6]
28 Patrick Keenan/Bob Kelly (Mitsubishi Evo ) [8]
29 James Coleman/Eoin O Neill (Escort Mk 2) [5]
30 John Reid/Enda Shields (Escort Mk 2) [5]
31 Noel Driver/Joe Shinnors (Escort Mk 2) [5]
32 Adrian Hetherington/Sac O Spuds (Escort Mk 2) [5]
33 Tadgh Linehan/Brian Duggan (Subaru Impreza N9) [8]
34 Tommy Graham/Declan Tumulty (Escort Cosworth) [6]
35 Daniel Barry/Graham Henderson (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [8]
36 John O Leary/Micheal Coleman (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [8]
37 John Leckie/Jon Madoc-Jones (Subaru Impreza) [8]
38 Micheal Tynan/Colin Brady (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [8]
39 Pat Price/Seamus O Connor (Mitsubishi Evo) [8]
40 Seamus Devine/Some Onelse (Mitsubishi Evo 8.5) [8]
41 Martin Cairns/Ann Other (Subaru Impreza N10) [8]
42 Ray Benskin/Peadar Walsh (Escort Mk 2) [4]
43 John O Connor/John O Connor Jnr (Manta 400) [5]
44 Jimmy Devane/Con Lucey (NissanSunny) [5]
45 Ollie Williams/Maul Aprati (Escort Mk 2) [5]
46 Micheal Murray/Tommy Doyle (Subaru Impreza) [6]
47 Dan Mulchay/Pat Naughton (Escort Cosworth) [6]
48 Jason Roche/Patrick Roche (Escort Mk 2) [4]
49 Colin Walsh/Padraig Barry (Subaru Impreza) [8]
50 Gordon Coleman/Paul Kelly (Mitsubishi Evo 6) [8]
51 Mike O Connor Snr/Micheal Stack (Manta 400) [5]
52 Billy O Connell/Derek Power (Escort Mk 2) [5]
53 James Flynn/Jonathon McGrath (Honda Civic) [3]
54 Matt Shinnors/Denis Donovan (Escort Mk 2) [3]
55 Mike Deane Jnr/Kenneth Deane (Escort Mk 2) [3]
56 Sean W Benskin/Vincent Coughlan (Escort G3) [4]
57 Danny McEvoy/Billy Collins (Escort Mk 2) [4]
58 Paul McKinstry/Mo Downey (Escort Mk 2) [5]
59 Micheal O Sullivan/Donnacha O Callaghan (Escort Mk 2) [4]
60 Patrick Shanahan Jnr/Joey Irwin (Toyota Starlet) [1]
61 Graham McClintock/Mark Sheehan (Mitsubishi Evo 3) [8]
62 John Cullinane/Kenneth Cullinane (Escort Mk 2) [4]
63 Mike O Connor Jnr/Sinead O Keeffe (Escort G3) [5]
64 James Lehane/Andrew Lehane (Honda Civic) [3]
65 Micheal Nevin/Micheal Garahy (Escort Mk 2) [2]
66 Joe McDonald/Barry Hamilton (Escort Mk 2) [2]
67 James Fagan/Raymond Greene (Escort Mk 2) [2]
68 Ivan Bryan/Alistair Wyllie (Corrolla) [3]
69 Ian Roche/Liam O Connor (Saxo Super 1600) [3]
70 Alan Dineen/Tony Dineen (Vauxhall Nova) [1]
71 Clement Lonergan/Martin Luddy (Honda Civic) [3]
72 Anthony O Halloran/Laurence O Halloran (VW Scirroco) [2]
73 Moss Fitzgerald/Vincent McCarthy (Toyota Corolla) [3]
74 John Bagge/Damien Walsh (Toyota Starlet) [3]
75 Micheal Cuddihy/Alan Mulchay (Sunbeam) [2]
76 Keith Cronin/Anthony O Conaill (106 Gti) [7]
77 Ashley McAdoo/Adam Murray (Opel Corsa) [9]
78 Conor Kelly/John.S Quill (Opel Corsa) [9]
79 Johnny Kenneally/Ken Carmody (Escort Mk 2) [9]
80 Richard Nugent/Bobby Nugent (Escort Mk 2) [9]
81 Barry Murphy/David Byrne (Vauxhall Nova) [9]
82 John Reiddy/Dave Lynos (Sierra Cosworth) [6]
83 John O Toole/Vincent Fagan (Subaru Legacy) [6]
84 Johnny Ryan/Paul Bruton (Peugeot 205) [2]
85 Adrian S McElhinny/Derek Henna (Peugeot 205) [2]
86 Adrian McBride/Rodney Hicks (Peugeot 205) [2]
87 James F Staford/Gary Murphy (Peugeot 205) [2]
88 Stephen Driver/Mark Driver (Peugeot 205) [2]
89 Tommie Rafferty/Brian Purcell (Peugeot 205) [2]
90 Dermot O Hagan/Barry McKenna (106 GTI) [7]
91 Douglas Stewart/Andrew Purcell (Peugeot 206) [7]
92 Micheal Doyle/Sac O Spuds (Peugeot 205) [2]
93 Pat Curran/Kevin Barry (Escort Mk 2) [3]
94 Mark Buckley/Eric Kelly (Ka) [9]
95 Andrew Fanning/Alan McCormack ( Ka) [1]
96 Colm Forde/Johnaton Trill (Ka) [1]
97 Kevin Kearney/John Meade (Ka) [1]
98 Sharon Power/Keith Power (Ka) [1]
99 Sarah Moyihan/Amy Moynihan (Nissan Micra) [9]
100 Kevin Hickey/Karl Beauman (Escort Mk 2) [1]
101 Thomas Melia/Andrew Browne (Peugeot 205) [2]
102 DJ Brown/Steve Ferritter (Peugeot 205) [2]
103 Ger Gowan/James Mullins (Peugeot 205) [2]
104 Nicholas Doherty/Philip Doherty (Escort Mk 2) [2]
105 John Harty/John Collins (Escort Mk 2) [2]
106 James J Wall/Willie Fitzpatrick (106 Maxi) [1]
107 Damien O Kane/Sean Balfe (Escort F2) [5]
108 David Fleming/Kieran Doherty (Toyota Starlet) [9]
109 Jonathan McHale/Trevor Payne (Vauxhall Nova) [9]
110 Ray Benskin Jnr/Ollie Kierce (Escort Mk 3) [2]
111 Eddie Hallihan/Jason O Callaghan (Escort Mk 1) [2]
112 Micheal Piggott/Breeda Piggott (Honda Civic) [1]
113 Brian Foran/Eamonn Coakley (Citreon Ax) [1]
114 Ciaran McCullagh/Conor Callanan (Vauxhall Nova) [2]
115 Nick Hegarty/Allyn Jennings (Skoda Felicia) [9]
116 Thomas Fitzmaurice/Keith McCarthy (Escort Mk 2) [2]
117 John Brennan/Willie Cavanagh (Peugeot 205) [2]
118 Mark Hackett/Micheal Matthews (Peugeot 205) [2]
119 David Dunne/Mike Kearney (Escort Mk 2) [2]
120 Donal Cullinane/Mark Linehan (Escort Mk 2) [2]
121 Gerald A Byrne/Sean Cullinane (Escort Mk 2) [4]
122 Gary Higgins/Alan Higgins (Escort Mk 2) [9]
123 William O Brien/David Twomey (Honda Civic) [2]
124 Declan O Reilly/Paul McMahon (Escort Mk 2) [2]
125 Kieran O Neill/Peter Keohane (Opel Corsa) [9]
126 Daniel O Leary/Micheal Fitzgerald (Honda Civic) [9]
127 Eddie Power/Des Moran (Ford Ka) [1]
14/06/05
All systems go for Cork Forest Rally
With just a few weeks to go the stage is set for Round six of the McCauley Trailers National Forest Rally Championship. The Tadhg O Conaill Heating and Plumbing Cork Forest Rally, promoted by Cork Motor Club, will take place over the two days of the 23rd and 24th of July and promises to be a cracker. With 100 stage miles of rally action over the two days, including an 11 mile stage run twice on the Saturday and a 13 mile stage run twice on the Sunday, the competitors will be kept focused and the spectators entertained for the duration.

Current Championship leaders Gareth McHale/Paul Nagle should be the pace setters here with victories in the Carrick- on Suir Willie Loughman forest rally,the Tipperary forest rally, the Circuit of Wicklow, and although they finished second to Kevin Lynch in the Moonraker they still took full points as Lynch wasn’t championship registered and was using the Moonraker as a shakedown for the tour of the Sperrins.

McHale certainly won’t have things all his own way though. Group A competition should come from Kevin O Kane and Pat Norris, also in Subaru Impreza WRC’s,John McCarthy in his Corolla WRC and Glen Allen is also expected to take the start in his Corolla WRC.Others pushing for victory will be James Murphy in his newly acquired ex Dominic McNeil Escort WRC and Dermot Kelly also in an Escort WRC.

The battle for group N honours will also be hotly contested with Patrick Elliot entered in a Mitsubishi Evo, and last years Group N winner local hero Brendan Murphy (Subaru Impreza) is also expected to take part as are Stephen Moore (Impreza N10) Pete Willoughby, Johnny McKenna and John McLaughlin.Pat Keenan (Evo 7) will also make the long trek from the USA to tackle the event. Tommy Graham is also said to considering a Group N entry. John Leckey,front runner in the Welsh National Championship, is also expected to take part.

Among the two wheel drive competitors will be John Reid, Ray Benskin, Noel Driver, Anthony O Halloran, Brian Lawlor, and entries from Northern Ireland in this division include Frank Kelly and Adrian Hetherington.

There will also be entries for the 205 challenge and the Ford Ka championship.

The format of the rally, described by one correspondent last year as “Donegal on Gravel”, will be three stages run twice on the Saturday and 4 stages run twice on the Sunday with centralised servicing on both days.

Saturday’s stages will take place in the Killavullen area with the Sunday route based in the massive Ballyhoura Forest complex.

Rally Headquarters for the weekend is the Mallow Park Hotel with scrutiny taking place on the Friday night between 6.00 and 9.00pm at Ears Motorsport with documentation from 6.00 to 10.00 pm.

The rally takes place in the forests around north Cork and being the only two day forest rally in the country will be well worth the journey down. First car leaves Parc Ferme at 12.30 on Saturday and is due on SS1 at 12.45.

The winner is due at the Mallow Park Hotel at 4.30 on Sunday

19/05/05 13/05/05
Cork Motor Club ltd have announced that the Cork Forest Rally will this year be sponsored by Tadhg O Conaill Heating and Plumbing Ltd., Ballymakeera Co.Cork

Speaking on behalf of the company at the announcement of the sponsorship package Tadhg O Conaill said, ”Over the last few years we have been very impressed with the level of professionalism displayed by the organisers in running this high profile event and when the opportunity came for us to be associated with it we were only too happy to come on board.”

Clerk of the Course Ger Fahy said, “We are delighted that Tadgh O Conaill Heating and Plumbing Ltd. have decided to come on board with us this year. The importance of sponsorship to rallying in Ireland cannot be over stressed. Quite simply if we didn’t have sponsors we wouldn’t have rallying, and to have backing from a company such as O Conaill Heating and Plumbing is a real bonus for us.
As a company they are obviously very conscious of their image and the public perception of what they do. We too know the importance of a good public image and we like to take it as an endorsement of the way we conduct our business that they are willing to act in partnership with us on the Cork Forest Rally this year.”

The rally itself is round 6 of the McAuley Trailers National Forest Championship, which draws the top competitors from around the 32 counties and also attracts a lot of interest from overseas because the two day format, with almost 100 stage miles, (160kms) and the top class organisation that goes with it, is seen as real value for money by the competitors. The event is also Round 4 of the Irish 205 Challenge. The rally takes place over the weekend of the 23rd and 24th of July

The benefits to North Cork and Mallow in particular are that the two-day format means that the rally crews, their service crews, and spectators will, for the most part, stay overnight. Bed and Breakfasts, hotels, restaurants, shops and garages will all benefit from this.

There will be little or no inconvenience to the residents and businesses of the area because of the fact that, unlike tarmac rallies, there is no recce weekend prior to the rally and there will be no need for road closures as the stages are all on Forestry lands, so happily it’s a win win situation for the area.

Head quarters for the rally will be the Mallow Park Hotel and entry forms and regulations will be available to download from the 21st of Mayon the club website: Further information can be had from C.O.C. Ger Fahy on 086 8369091 (+353 86 8369091)
Event Details:
    160kms (100 Miles) Stages
    180kms (115 miles) Road
    Saturday 3x2 Stage Format
    Sunday 4x2 Stage Format (Including 2 runs at a 24Km Stage)

    €560 (Less than £380 STG)
    Novice/Junior €440

Topics: Cork Forestry Rally 

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